


The Fear Collection

by DianneRose2016



Series: The Clay Spenser Collection [2]
Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Angst, Brotherly Love, Comfort, Drama, Emotional pain, Family, Hurt, Hurt Clay, Mentions of Phobias, Warnings in Chapter Summary, emotional angst, traumatised clay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:48:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28278648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DianneRose2016/pseuds/DianneRose2016
Summary: A series of unconnected oneshots that will feature Clay and a different phobia for him to go through. This will feature the team being brothers and supporting Clay as he deals with different phobias.
Series: The Clay Spenser Collection [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060853
Comments: 6
Kudos: 40





	The Fear Collection

**Author's Note:**

> These are going to be a series of oneshots that are not connected to each other, so you can read the ones that you would like to. Set in Season 2 before Manilla.
> 
> Aphenphosmphobia - Fear of being touched
> 
> Story warnings: mentions of child molestation but nothing graphic just uses the word.

  
  


The past month had been hard for Clay, it had been really hard. He was barely sleeping, only getting a few hours a week now. Clay knew he couldn’t keep going this way, he just didn’t know how to stop. He was anxious, he didn’t like being around people, he couldn’t even stand to be touched. It started off slow at first. It was just this weird nightmare a month ago. Clay didn’t think much of it at first, just shrugged it off as a fucked up nightmare and let it go. But then the next night it happened again, then again the following night and within a week it was happening multiple times a night and the nightmares were getting more vivid, but also different. It wasn’t just the same nightmare, but different ones all revolving around the same thing. After a week Clay noticed little things with him were different. He didn’t want to be in the bar with the guys, being there that Friday night had made his skin crawl. When someone accidentally bumped into him, he flinched away. Clay figured it was just from the nightmare, but then he found himself doing it on base too. He didn’t like being around all of the teams. He could handle Bravo, but that was it. Then the nightmares started to come in flashes while he was awake and then all hell broke loose.

It was two weeks ago when Clay discovered these nightmares were actually memories, memories from growing up that he didn’t want to remember. Memories that his mind had shut out to protect him, Clay had no idea why now though. Why would his mind decide now that he was ready to have these memories? He didn’t want these memories, he wanted his life back to normal. He was getting worse. He could barely handle being on the plane now with how bad his anxiety around people was getting. He was fine if they were far away from him, but anyone that came close, within touching distance, he felt like he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t stand being touched, it made his skin crawl. It didn’t matter who it was, he couldn’t handle it. Sonny got close to him last night on the way out that his arm had just brushed against his and Clay almost jumped a foot in the air. Sometimes as simple as his own brother’s arm just skimming against his own was enough to make him want to run away screaming. 

Clay knew something had to give, he couldn’t keep going like this. He couldn’t do his job, he couldn’t protect his brothers when he couldn’t even handle being around people. Around his brothers. Clay had no idea what to do though, he didn’t know how to make this better, he didn’t know how to make this stop. Clay did know he needed help and there was only one person in this world that he could trust with this. Clay headed out and made his way to the one place where he felt safe.

XXX

The guys made their way into the gym on base. They had invited Clay to come, but he had said he was tired and was just going to stay in. The guys had all been able to tell that something was going on with their youngest brother. They had all noticed within the past month that Clay had been different. He wasn’t sleeping well, he was zoning out while they weren’t in the field, he was jumpy and he wasn’t social anymore. Something was going on with him and they had been waiting for him to come to them to talk it out, but so far he was settling for suffering in silence and alone. 

“What are we gonna do about our Little Buckaroo?” Sonny asked, as he started to lift weights.

“He’ll come to us when he’s ready.” Ray said.

“He hasn’t yet and it’s getting to the point where it’s starting to be dangerous.” Trent countered.

“He doesn’t come out with us, he doesn’t even hang around us on the plane. I brushed his arm yesterday, the kid jumped almost six feet.” Sonny said.

“He’s been a little lost in thought, but you know how he can be. That big brain of his is always thinking about something. You just startled him Son, that’s all.” Ray said. 

He knew Clay had been a little off lately, but his work in the field was as good as always. He figured Clay would come to them if he needed to talk or work through something. Until then they needed to give him some space and let him have his privacy.

“What do you think Boss?” Brock asked, Jason.

“I think something is going on with him. If he doesn’t come to one of us soon, I’ll talk to him.” 

Jason had seen the change in Clay, it was hard to miss. Clay wasn’t always social, but he did make a real try at being social with the team. He had gotten a lot better than he was in the beginning. Clay used to always just go off on his own and normally read a book. Now he would still read, but he made the effort to hang with the guys for a bit first before going off on his own. He would go out with the guys to the bar when everyone was going. Within the past month though, Clay was basically a ghost and when he was around, he didn’t talk much. Something was bothering the kid and Jason was really hoping he would open up to someone on the team soon. Jason really didn’t want to try and pry it out of him. Clay could clam up better then anyone on the team. If he didn’t want to talk, there was no making him. Jason could swear it was that part of his personality that made Clay so good at SERE. If Clay didn’t want to talk, there was nothing you could do to get it out of him. You had to know when to push with Clay and just how far you could push something with him. Normally though, if you gave him enough time he would come to you willingly and talk about what was going on. Clay could talk about his feelings, that wasn’t the issue. The issue was he only talked about his feelings with someone he trusts and earning that trust had been a monstrous undertaking that each and every single member of Bravo had taken on. Jason knew they still had a ways to go, but he also knew that Clay had started to trust them on a deeper level over the past year. Jason was good with slow progress, as long as it was progress he was happy. 

Jason spent a good two hours at the gym before he decided to head back home. He took a quick shower on base and then headed for his apartment. He was hoping they would have a few days off without having to worry about an op, it would be good for them all to get some rest and downtime with how their operations had been going recently. He was also hoping to maybe reach out to Clay to grab a beer tonight. He was hoping Clay might open up more to him if they were one on one instead of in a group. Clay tended to be more open and honest if it was just one on one. Clay was a tricky person to get to know. He had walls up around him that would give Fort Knox a good run for their money. It took a long time to get through the walls and to show Clay that he could trust them on a deeper personal level. It was something they were all working with him on and they were making progress. Recently, it felt like Clay was pulling back and Jason was hoping to nip that in the butt before it got worse.

Jason parked his truck in his spot before he headed up to his apartment. When he walked in he was not expecting to see Clay pacing around his small apartment. Jason closed the door as he spoke in a gentle tone.

“What’s going on Sunshine?” 

Clay reminded Jason of a scared deer from the times his father had taken him hunting growing up. Clay was ready to run at a single loud sound. He looked scared and he was giving off a scared energy into the room. Something serious was going on with him and he needed to get Clay to open up to him about it before it exploded while they were on an operation. Clay took in a shaky breath before he spoke.

“I keep having these dreams. I didn’t think they were anything at first, but then it started happening every night and then when I was awake it would pop in my head. And now, now I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do.”

Clay was panicking and that was very clear to Jason. He had no idea what was going on, but whatever nightmare Clay was having was enough to cause all of this panic within him.

“Ok, calm down for me Clay. Let’s sit down and we can talk it out. We can figure it all out.” 

Clay could feel his body trembling as he made his way over to the couch and sat down on the opposite side from Jason, being as far away from him as he could on the couch. Jason, sensing that Clay didn’t want to be close or touch, sat down on the other end of the couch to allow Clay to have some semblance of space. 

“Start at the beginning Sunshine.” Jason said, calmly.

“A month ago I had this nightmare of someone touching me, but I was little. I figured it was just a nightmare and blew it off. But then it happened the next night, and it kept happening. Then different versions of it started to show up and it would pop into my head even when I was awake.” Clay said with a deep level of pain in his voice.

“It sounds like you have unlocked a memory that your mind blocked from you. Can you see who the person is?”

Jason did not expect for this to be happening. He had no idea what Clay had been going through, he was hoping to talk with him about it, but he didn’t expect this. He didn’t expect that the thing that had been bothering Clay this past month was the memories of being molested as a child. Clay having a hard time with being touched really made a lot of sense now.

“It’s Ash. I was five and six, he did it for a year before my grandparents took me to Africa. I always wondered why they moved me there, but now I know. My own father was molesting me.”

Clay couldn’t stop the tears as he said the words out loud for the first time. It was one thing to think it and another to actually say it out loud and it was to Jason of all people. Someone he respected and looked up to would now see him break down and know that he was molested by his own father. The shame was insant to Clay and he couldn’t help but think he would never recover from this. Jason wanted to reach out and take Clay in his arms, but he knew with Clay’s aversion to being touched right now it would only make matters worse. So instead he settled for what he could do for him.

“It’s ok Sunshine, it’s going to be ok. We’ll get through this.”

Jason wished he could have physically comforted Clay. It was hard to watch Clay struggling with this, with his emotions, and not being able to help him through it. When his kids were upset he knew he could hug them and it would help to make them feel better. He wished he could have done that with Clay right now, he wished he could magically make this all better for him. It took Clay a good twenty minutes before the tears finally started to slow down and Jason had to force himself to remember he couldn’t touch Clay to wipe the tears away.

“Sorry.” Clay instantly said. He had almost never cried and if he did he made sure it wasn’t around anyone, least of all someone like Jason.

“You don’t ever have to apologise for crying Clay. It’s natural and something everyone does, whether they want to admit it or not. Sometimes the pain is too great and you have to let it out. We’re gonna get you through this.” Jason promised.

“We?” Clay asked, confused.

“Bravo, your family. We will get you through this and on the other side.” Jason clarified, though it worried him that he had to.

“No, no way I can’t tell the guys. They can’t know about this.” Clay instantly said and the panic was starting to rise again. 

“They won’t think less of you Clay. They love you and they will be there to support you through this. I promise you. You have done nothing wrong. What happened to you was Ash’s fault, not yours. You have nothing to be ashamed of or feel guilty about.” Jason said with a strength to his voice. There was no way in hell that he was going to let Clay think for a one second that the guys would hold this against him, that this was his fault in any way, shape or form.

“I don’t want them to look at me differently.” Clay softly admitted.

“They won’t Sunshine. They’ve been really worried about you and how you’ve been acting this past month. All they want to do is help you. I know it’s hard with how you grew up. I know trust is a serious issue that you have still with people, we understand that and we’ve been going at your speed. But this isn’t something you can keep quiet about Clay. They need to know so they don’t do something to make you worse. The very last thing the guys want is to cause you any distress or harm. They won’t think any less of you I promise you.”

Clay knew that Jason wouldn’t lie to him, but at the same time it was hard to believe him. His childhood had taught him that people closest to you could hurt you the most, something that was more true now than its ever been before. He wasn’t used to letting people get close to him. He wasn’t used to letting people see who he was behind all of the walls. Clay knew the guys had been working on chipping away at them, and he had let them. This was something different though and it was going to be hard to let them in. He also knew what Jason said was true though. The guys did need to know so they didn’t overcrowd him or grab him and set off an anxiety attack. That wasn’t fair to them and it couldn’t happen in the field. He wasn’t going to have a choice, he had to tell them and just hope they wouldn’t hold it against him. 

“Ok, you’re right. It wouldn’t be fair to them.”

“They won’t hold it against you I promise you. We can do it tomorrow morning and get it over and done with. Then we can figure out where to go from there and how to properly help you through this.”

“I’m sorry for just showing up here unannounced. I just didn’t know where else to go.”

“You are welcome here anytime Sunshine. I’ll never kick you out of turn you away. Why don’t I start making some dinner? There’s a hockey game on, we can just relax and maybe take your mind off things.” Jason offered.

“Sounds good.” Clay easily agreed. 

Being around Jason always made him feel safe and that was exactly what he needed. He was glad that Jason wasn’t holding any of this against him, that he wasn’t kicking him out of his home and Bravo. Being around Jason always had this power to make him feel safe, to make him feel like everything would be ok. Clay just hoped Jason was right about the others and tomorrow they wouldn't kick him out of Bravo. 

XXX

Clay was standing in his kitchen the next morning trying to convince himself to make a cup of coffee. He had slept like shit, too afraid to even close his eyes for what he would see. Talking with Jason did not make him feel any better at all. Jason had said he needed to tell the guys and it was making Clay feel this heavy weight in the pit of his stomach. He knew that Jason told him they wouldn’t hold anything against him, that they would still love him. The problem was, Clay didn’t grow up in that environment. He wasn’t used to this unconditional love that the team had for him. He was used to having to prove he was worth something to be able to feel even the slightest bit of love. This was something that was huge and he had no idea how the guys would all react to it. Clay was snapped out of his thoughts by a knock at his front door. Clay figured it was the guys so he called out.

“It’s open.”

Clay was shocked to see that it wasn't the team, but Ash that walked through his door. Instantly Clay was on edge. He wasn’t prepared to see Ash today, or anytime soon. He had plans of avoiding him for the rest of his life and just doing his best to pretend like nothing happened.

“What are you doing here?” Clay asked, as he moved further into his kitchen, looking to get as far away from Ash as he could.

“I’ve been trying to meet with you, but you haven’t been answering my calls. I need you to go to a dinner with me. Got a potential client that I need to impress.”

“Get out. Get away from me and never contact me again.” Clay said, as he felt the panic start to creep up.

“What the hell is your problem?” Ash said, not even the least bit interested in what Clay was going through. He just wanted Clay to show up for this dinner so he could impress a potential client and get a contract worth a million a year.

“You are. I remember what you did to me when I was six. I remember you touching me, you molesting me. That’s why Granny and Gramps took me away to Africa, it was to get away from you. From what you were doing to me.”

“You don’t know a damn thing about what you are talking about. Are you spreading these lies about me?” Ash asked, as he moved closer to Clay.

“Get out and get away from me!” Clay yelled as his panic started to kick up a degree.

Ash moved closer to Clay boxing him in against the corner counter of the kitchen. Clay’s breathing was starting to hitch and he could feel the anxiety taking over him. He needed Ash away from him so he could try and get his breathing back under control.

“I will not tolerate you spreading these disgusting lies about me.” Ash reached out and grabbed a chunk of Clay’s hair and pulled his head back. “Who did you tell?” Ash demanded.

Clay couldn’t talk right now even if he wanted to. His whole body was trembling and he couldn’t seem to catch his breath. He needed Ash away from him. He needed to be alone so he could try and get through the anxiety attack. There was a knock at the door and Clay knew it would be the team this time. He wanted to call out for help, but he couldn’t get enough air into his body to talk. 

“Answer me.” Ash demanded as he slammed the back of Clay’s head into the cupboard behind him.

Clay reached over and hit the clean dishes that were sitting on the side of the sink in the drying tray and knocked them all down to the floor. The loud crash did exactly what Clay thought it would. His front door was opening and Jason was instantly going through it worried from the loud noise. The guys all saw red when they walked in to see Clay clearly in distress and Ash manhandling him. Ash’s attention snapped over to the front door at it being open, but he didn’t have time to react as Jason was already over there and pulled him off of Clay before punching him across the face hard enough to knock him down to the floor. Clay slid down to the floor with his knees brought up to his chest as he fought to get his breathing under control. While Jason and Sonny handled Ash and getting him out, Trent turned his full attention to Clay who was clearly having a panic attack of sorts. Trent bent down, but kept a good distance from Clay as he spoke.

“Spense, I need you to try and slow your breathing down for me. Take a deep breath and hold it for five seconds before letting it out.”

Clay did his best to do what Trent wanted, but it wasn't that simple. He just wanted to be alone so he could hide away in his bed and forget that any of this happened. 

“Everyone, but Trent back up and give him some room. Being this close to him is going to make him worse.” Jason ordered.

He knew what was going on with Clay and he also knew that right now having all of the guys around him was only making it worse. The guys all moved back and allowed Trent the room so he could get Clay to calm down. They could see that Clay’s whole body was shaking and they knew something else was going on with him, something they didn’t know about. Trent spoke softly and calmly with Clay and was able to get him to slow his breathing down and get it back to a normal level. He was still shaking and clearly going through something, but he was no longer having a panic attack and hyperventilating. 

“Spense, did he hurt you anywhere?” Trent asked.

“No.” Clay said softly.

He didn’t feel like anything hurt, he knew his head hit the cupboard, but it wasn’t hurting right now. He wasn’t sure if it would after the shock had worn off, but he could always take something for it. He wasn’t worried about a concussion at all. 

“Ok, do you want to get up and go sit on the couch?” Trent asked.

Clay knew they weren’t going to leave him alone, not after all of this. Not to mention he was supposed to be telling them what had been going on with him recently. That was why they were here. Clay just gave a small nod before he slowly stood up. Trent kept an arm out away from Clay, but off to the side to prevent him from walking through the glass. 

“Watch the glass Spense.” Trent advised.

Clay looked down and for the first time it seemed to register that he had broken glass all over the floor. Clay had forgotten that he had knocked the clean dishes down to get the team’s attention. He would need to clean it up later. Clay walked around it and headed over to the couch to sit down. Ray and Brock went into the kitchen to clean up the broken glass reach quick, while Clay got settled onto the couch. After a few minutes the glass was all cleaned up and Clay had some time to get his emotions back under control. The guys joined Clay in the living room, but they didn’t sit down on any of the furniture. They didn’t want to overcrowd him. They had all seen in the past month that Clay was not happy in crowds and the very last thing they wanted to do right now was make Clay’s anxiety worse. 

“You ok Sunshine?” Jason started.

“Ya, sorry. I just wasn’t expecting him.” 

Jason gave a nod in understanding. After what Clay had been dealing with it was no surprise that seeing Ash was enough to push Clay over the edge.

“Why was he here? Did he say?” Jason asked.

“He wanted me to go to dinner with him to impress a potential client. I told him to get out, that I remembered what he did. I guess he wasn’t expecting me to ever remember, because he got mad and started to demand that I tell him who I told. Then you guys came in. You made him leave?” Clay asked, as he couldn’t recall what had happened after the guys came in. 

“Sonny and me got him out and I made him leave the apartment. He was heading towards the elevator. I’m not sure if he is in his car though, but he’s not getting back in here.” Jason promised.

Clay gave a distant nod as his mind was working on trying to process all of this. 

“Can you tell us what happened Little Buddy? We lost you there for a minute, does this have to do with what you were going to talk to us about?” Sonny asked, trying to get a better understanding of what was going on. 

Clay gave a shaky nod as he was trying to still get his emotions back under control. There was still a tremble to his body and he wished he could accept a hug from one of his brothers, but even just the thought of it made his skin crawl and made him want to run from them. He hated this. This wasn’t who he was, this wasn’t what he wanted out of his life. He didn’t want to have to be afraid to be touched. He wanted Sonny to throw his arm over his shoulders as they walked. He liked it when Jason would put his hand on his shoulder when he needed support or to let him know he was doing a good job. Those small touches meant the world to Clay and he didn’t want to have to fear them. 

“What’s going on Clay? You can tell us anything brother.” Ray said, using his fatherly voice that he normally only saved for small children. Right now though Clay seemed like he needed some tender love.

Clay let out a shaky breath before he looked over at Jason and with an encouraging nod from him, Clay spoke.

“About a month ago I started to get these nightmares. I didn’t think much of it, but then they kept happening and they started to happen when I wasn't asleep. I figured out that they were nightmares, but also memories that I blocked off. Memories from growing up before I went to Africa with my grandparents.”

“Ok, what were they about?” Ray asked, trying to get more information about what was going on. 

“Ash, he um…” Clay paused as he tried to get his emotions under control so he could say this without breaking down again like he did with Jason last night. “He used to come into my room at night.”

“Oh kid.” Sonny said with understanding to his voice.

The guys didn’t need Clay to say anymore. They knew what Ash had been doing to him. They didn’t need to cause him more pain by saying it. They didn’t have a very high opinion of Ash to begin with, just above dirt if they were being honest. Now though, now he was lower than dirt. Sonny wished he could have been the one to punch him, he sure as shit wouldn’t have stopped at just one punch like Jason had.

“We’re here for you. We’ll help you in any way we can.” Brock said, looking to offer some support to Clay. 

“Is that why you have been having a hard time with being touched and being in crowds?” Trent asked, gently.

“Ya, I don’t know why. Just the thought of being touched right now makes it hard to breathe.” Clay admitted.

“It’s normal Spense. You suffered something traumatic growing up and part of that trauma comes with a fear of being touched. It’s something that you can work through and recover from.” Trent explained. 

“I don’t understand why it’s happening now.” Clay said, and they could all hear the confusion to his voice.

“Because your mind is safe now. Your mind blocked it all out from you to protect itself from the horror of the truth. But now you have a family who loves you, you’re safe with us and it’s allowing your mind to now release those memories.” Trent explained.

“I don’t want them.” Clay said, sadly.

“We know you don’t brother and we would take this pain away from you if we could. Have you thought about going to speak to someone about this?” Ray asked, gently.

“Like a Shrink? I can’t the military will kick me out.” Clay said, panicked at the idea.

“They won’t. They can’t over something like this. You would have to take a leave of absence for a little bit, but then you can come right back to operating with us.” Ray explained.

“I know you don’t want to talk about it Sunshine, but you can’t go through life being afraid to be touched by someone, even something as simple as them brushing up against your arm. You can’t be operating where we have to worry about if you are going to have a panic attack if we are in a crowded place or someone grabs you. It’s not safe for you to be operating that way for yourself or for us. You gotta talk to someone and work through these memories.” Jason said.

He understood that Clay just wanted to forget, but that option flew out the window when he started to remember these memories. His mind wasn’t about to just forget about them all over again. This was something he had to face head on so he could recover from this and be able to get back to the team. Clay let out a sigh. He understood Jason’s point, he really did. If he was in Jason’s position he wouldn’t be able to allow him to operate right now either. Jason was right, he couldn’t be in a large crowd of people without feeling like his skin was crawling and it was harder to breathe. He couldn’t protect his brothers like that. He had to work through it so he could keep his brothers safe out in the field. 

“Ok, I’ll talk to someone.” Clay agreed with complete understanding to his voice,

“You can do this Little Buddy and we will be there with you through all of this.” Sonny promised.

“You can call any of us whenever you need to talk or come over if you can’t handle being alone. We will all get you through this, no matter what.” Trent added.

Clay looked at each of their faces and he could see they were all serious and each and every single one of them were in his corner. They would get him through this and he would come out of it stronger. Clay wasn’t alone for this fight like he thought he would be. He had his brothers right there with him and maybe, just maybe, he would make it through this nightmare. 

XXX

Clay arrived at Sonny’s house with a case of beer for the barbeque. He was feeling a bit better, but also not at the same time. The therapy appointment had gone well, but it was hard on him to relive these memories that he had long since buried. Clay still didn’t understand why they were coming forward now. He knew that Trent had pointed out now that he was safe and with a family that he could trust his mind was allowing himself to remember, but at the same time Clay wished it wouldn’t. He didn’t want these memories, he wanted them to go back into whatever magical box he had inside his head where he didn’t know about them. There wasn’t a way to make that happen so now he had to focus on them and work through them. He knew he couldn’t be back with the team until he was able to handle being in a social setting and being touched again. He had to work through and he was determined to do just that. He wasn’t going to let them down and he wasn’t going to leave them down range on their own. He would put in the effort and take back his life. 

Clay got out of his truck and grabbed the case of beer and headed around to the backyard where everyone would be. He was not surprised to see the guys already hear and the barbeque was going with Sonny at the helm. He didn’t let anyone else but him barbeque the meat. The Texan in him refused to give up his grill, not that Clay cared, Sonny was an amazing cook when it came to a grill. Clay placed the case of beer down, domestic beer, by the bucket of ice and started to put some in as the guys all gave him a nod.

“How did it go Sunshine?” Jason asked, as they all moved closer.

“It was hard, but I’m working through it.” Clay answered, honestly.

“Good, that’s good. I know it’s not going to be easy on you emotionally, but know that we are all right here for you and have your back. You’re not going into that room alone, we’ll always be there for you.” Jason said, making sure Clay understood that they would always have his back, even if Clay couldn’t see them.

“I know and I appreciate everything you guys have done for me.” Clay said, with a warm smile.

“It’s what family does Brother.” Ray said warmly.

“We always got your back and if that piece of shit father ever shows up, I got the perfect place to bury him.” Sonny said, with an evil smirk.

“And Full Metal knows how to make a body disappear.” Trent added.

“That man has layers. If half of the things I’ve heard about him are true he’s like two check marks away from a psychopath.” Clay commented.

“Oh they’re all true, trust me on that.” Jason said with a smile. Full Metal was not someone you messed with. He was also very handy to have around if you needed to do something not quit on the up and up. He was always down for a good time, legal or otherwise.

“Thank-you, really thank-you for everything.” Clay said, with a sincere smile to the guys.

“You never have to thank us for being your family Sunshine.” 

“Now, let’s stop talking about our feelings and let’s eat.” Sonny said, as he held up a plate of ribs that were finished.

The guys all agreed. They didn’t need to get all sappy with Clay. He knew they had his back and they would always be there for him. Clay had a bit of a road ahead of him, but he knew he wasn’t going down that road alone. His brothers, his true family, were going to be walking down that road with him. Clay knew he would make it to the other side of this and it would only strengthen the bond he shared with his brothers. 

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Ok what do you think? Do you want more of these oneshots or do you hold no interest in them? Let me know please!
> 
> Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!!!


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